According to Millward Brown’s annual BrandZ Top 100 survey, BMW has overtaken Toyota as the world’s most valuable automotive brand. Peter Walshe, Millward Brown global brand director, said he thinks Toyota will bounce back after the automaker’s massive recall campaign kicked off toward the end of 2009.

BMW brand’s brand value declined 9 percent compared with the 2009 ranking to just over $21.8 billion while Toyota’s dropped 27 percent to just under $21.8 billion.

“It is likely that Toyota’s brand has suffered further in recent months, but it is a strong brand and is trying hard to overcome the damage through a major communications campaign,” Walshe said. “All of our evidence shows that strong brands are much more likely to recover from a crisis.”

FoMoCo and Volkswagen AG also improved their brand value.

- By: Kap Shah

Source: Automotive News (Subscription Required)